Bird Seed: Orioles Prospect Pulse, May 21

What do uber-prospect David Price and future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera have in common? 

If you guessed that they gave up Nolan Reimold's first AAA home run and first Major League home run, then you get a cookie.

That's right. The best image to come from last night's 11-4 debacle of a loss was Reimold hitting his first career jack against the best closer in baseball history. The best image aside from Mark Teixeira getting drilled in the back, of course.

Who cares if it was in the ninth inning of a blowout loss, the rookie left fielder has a story he can tell his grandkids about. I hit my first career home run on the nastiest pitch from one of the nastiest pitchers in history. Take that!

And of course, we all remember Reimold's first triple A home run, a shot off of Tampa Bay savior David Price. Well, Reimold actually took Price deep twice this season. Boo ya!

On the season Reimold is hitting .261 with one home run (obviously), three RBI, one run, one walk, and four strikeouts. He has also yet to make an error in the outfield. I only mention it because both Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, while considered two of the more athletic, able fielders in the game, have made three apiece. 

Down at AAA, Reimold was hitting a league leading .394. He led the team with home runs before his promotion with nine, also in RBI with 27.

So here's the dealio. I'm gonna start doing a write up on the O's prospects and how they perform each night. I'll include some pithy commentary like the sample above, and then delve into the night's game, trying to find some good in the minor league action.

Occasionally, I'm sure I'll be forced to share my opinions on the big league club too. So without further ado, here goes.

Crying Wolf, Tides Lose in Extras

Neither another Matt Wieters home run or six solid innings by Jason Berken were enough to get the Norfolk Tides past the Rochester Red Wings last night. Wieters hit a two run homer, finishing the night 1-4 and seeing his average drop a point to .281.

Berken threw six innings of five-hit ball, giving up two runs, one on a solo home run to Justin Huber. Aside from that mistake, he pitched very well, striking out seven, walking only one. He threw a total of 95 pitches, 68 of which were strikes.

Newcomer Russ Wolf picked up the loss, surrendering a solo shot to David Winfree in the top of the 12th inning. Andy Mitchell and Kam Mickolio both pitched scoreless innings of relief.

On the other side of the mound, Justin Turner continued his turnaround, going 2-4 and raising his average on the season to .290. Turner was a throw in from the Ramon Hernandez-Ryan Freel trade. Jeff Fiorentino went 0-5 and saw his average drop below .300 for the first time at Norfolk.

Baysox Fall Prey to Lincoln Gem

Brad Lincoln had his way with the Baysox last night, tossing a 2-0 complete game shutout. Only two Baysox managed to scrap a hit off the former first round pick (No.4 in 2006). Those two guys in question would be Ambiorix Concepcion and newcomer Brandon Pinckney, who's name you probably won't recognize.

Added to the roster yesterday, Pinckney played last year at Akron, in the Indians system. Aside from their two hits, the rest of the lineup scuffled. Brandon Snyder tagged on another oh-fer and free swinger Mike Constanzo gave up three strikeouts to Lincoln.

John Mariotti got the start for the Sox and pitched well, giving up both runs in six innings of five-hit ball. He also struck out four and walked four. His start was good enough to lower his ERA on the season to 6.46.

He picked up the tough-luck loss, while Ryan Rodriguez pitched the final three innings, allowing five hits, striking out three and walking one. He gave up no runs.

Beato, Florimon Hold Key to Frederick's Victory

Pedro Beato made the next stop on his comeback trail in Lynchburg, where he and three relievers helped shut down the Hillcats 3-2. Beato pitched an inspiring six innings and picked up his second win of the season.

More importantly, he only gave up five hits, surrendered two runs and walked two. Those kind of numbers have been hard for Pedro to come by these past few years. 

At the plate, shortstop Pedro Florimon led the way for the Keys, going 2-4, smacking a double and scoring a run. He has his average up to .299 now and is looking the part of a Major League shortstop in the making. Catcher Caleb Joseph also had a good game, notching a triple and driving in a run. His .324 average leads the team. 

The bullpen was aided by three scoreless innings from Cliff Flagello, Brett Bordes, and Luis Lebron, who picked up his seventh save by striking out the side in the ninth. Bordes and Flagello have been pretty awful this year, so it's nice to see them both have a little success, especially both in the same game.

Kolodny's Lone RBI Enough as Zagone Pitches Gem

Tyler Kolodny punched through an RBI single that scored first baseman Joe Mahoney, and lefty Rick Zagone made it stand up, tossing six scoreless, two-hit innings, striking out 10. Zagone has made quite the impression since being drafted, first going 7-1 last year in his debut at Aberdeen, where he struck out 79 in 65 innings. 

For a kid with supposed "control problems," I'd say he's held his own this year at low-A Delmarva. The win pushes him to 4-3 on the year and he has 46 strikeouts to go with 15 walks in 44.2 innings. Not bad for a sixth round pick. His 10 strikeouts mark a season high and he's a shoe-in for the midseason All-Star team.

Kolodny on the other hand struck out for the team leading 37th time, but it was his RBI single that made the difference. Joe Mahoney saw his average dip below .300 for the first time all season thanks to an 0-4 night.

DH Elvin Polanco and OF Ronnie Welty both notched two hits apiece for the Shorebirds. Welty now leads the team with a .311 average, but it has been made clear, the strength of this team is its pitching.

May 21—Hitter of the Night: C Matt Wieters—1-4, HR (5), 2 RBI

May 21—Pitcher of the Night: LHP Rick Zagone—W (4-3) 6 IP, 2 hits, 10 strikeouts, 3 walks)

May 21—Goat of the Night: RHP Russ Wolf—L (1-1) 2 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 strikeouts